Division 4 football: Warriors hope false start doesn’t slow them down

If he’d been told in late August that his team would hold Grafton High to 16 points in the season opener, chances are Nipmuc Regional coach Phil Schiloski would have jumped for joy.

While the Warriors’ defense did its part against the Indians on Friday night, the offense sputtered in a 16-0 loss.

But don’t expect Nipmuc to be struggling to score points very often this season. It’s only a matter of time before Schiloski’s new offensive players mesh with one of the most skilled and dangerous receiving corps in the area.

“We have about seven or eight guys we’re taking a look at on our offensive line, and I think once we get that squared away — see where everyone fits best — we’ll start rolling like we did last year,” said Schiloski, whose team finished 7-5 last year. “We have a new quarterback (junior Erik Natterstad) who is one of the best athletes on our team. He can roll out and he can throw it, so once we get him some time, I think we’ll be OK.”

Natterstad has the luxury of throwing to a trio of senior wide receivers — Derek Moore, Danny Dias and Zach Giardini.

“That’s our strength, for sure,” Schiloski said of his wideouts. “We certainly want to game-plan toward that strength. In the Grafton game, they did a great job of keeping our offense off the field and limiting the opportunities we had to make big plays.”

Moore, who blends size and speed, finished with 15 touchdowns a year ago while going over 1,000 yards receiving. He has drawn interest from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Bryant and Bentley.

“Derek worked with a personal trainer throughout the last year, not just over the summer,” Schiloski said. “He’s definitely improved a lot physically. I think having Derek will be a huge confidence boost for (Natterstad) as the season goes on. He’s the kind of kid who can just go and get a ball.”

While Schiloski knew what he had coming back at the receiver position, he has been pleasantly surprised by the development of junior running back Kyle Braile.

The Warriors, as in years past, have athletes all over the field, which Schiloski believes bodes well against this week’s opponent, Hopkinton.

“We have a lot of speed, even up front, on defense so I think we match up better against teams that run the spread (offense) than we do against a (double-wing) team like Grafton,” he said.

The defense, which was stout all game against the Indians despite being on the field for 63 plays, is anchored by a strong linebacking group, led by captains Joe Cortese and James Schwenderman.

Rams tough
There was little doubt coming into the season that Northbridge High would be in the mix for the Division 4 championship, and the Rams’ season-opening performance only reinforced that opinion.